Roxanne
by needysaurusrex
Summary: "Do you still want one? A dog." Daryl looked up at Carol with an amused look on his worn face, snorting dismissively at her. "We ain't livin' in a world safe for dogs. Besides, I ain't seen one in months. Probably never see one again." "Never say never, Daryl Dixon."
1. Chapter 1

**I just really want Daryl to get a dog.. AU, set back in the prison. Caryl with hints of Gleggie and Richonne. Orginally this was going to be a one shot but it got really, really long so I decided I would split it up into two parts. I don't own anything from The Walking Dead. Thanks for taking the time to read and Caryl on!**

**Blah blah blah still looking for a beta, check out my other fics if you want, starting a series of one shots solely from prompts, please leave some if you're interested. **

* * *

"Did you ever have a dog?" Daryl's voice surprised Carol and she turned her head to look up at him from her seat at a table in the library. She'd been going over her lesson plan for her next lesson with the kids and hadn't even noticed that Daryl had come into the library. She really needed to put a bell on him. Carol heard him pull a chair out from across from her and sit down.

"What?" Carol asked, wondering if she heard Daryl's question right. Carol pulled the papers close to her and shuffled them all together before putting them in her folder. Of course Daryl knew about how she was teaching the kids how to survive if they needed to and while he was tense about it, he understood the need for it and why Carol needed to do it. She couldn't let another child die like Sophia did. Daryl admired her for taking charge like that and not caring if Rick found out or she got in trouble for doing it. He admired her for a lot of things.

Still, Carol knew the less Daryl knew about it the better. She hated that he was having to lie to Rick. She knew that Daryl hated to lie to his friend.

"A dog. Did you ever have one? Growing up, adult.." He trailed off, wondering if it was stupid to ask her about something so silly. They had talked about their live before the world went to shit before, but it was normally after each of them had a few drinks in them or was in a bad mood. Sometimes talking about their pasts helped and sometimes it just made things worse. Neither of them ever pushed each other to talk about something they didn't want to. They respected each other, maybe more than either of them respected others in the group.

Carol wondered what brought Daryl to ask her something like that, but she didn't mind. She liked it when Daryl initiated this kinds of conversations between them. The relationship they had, an unspoken '_You are mine and I am yours' _was just fine for Carol Peletier. She didn't need courting, she didn't need touching and sex. She was fine with the mutual relationship they held. "When I was really little, yeah. We used to live at this junkyard when I was a kid and we had this big rottweiler. Everyone was scared of him, which was why we got him. But I loved him. He died after I turned thirteen and we just.. Never got a new one." Carol thought back to her childhood pet, Buck. "So.. Sophia always wanted one but Ed... He never wanted one."

The mention of Sophia and how devastated Carol always looks when her name is brought up kills Daryl inside and he hates himself for making her look like that. Carol would always tell him that it got easier to talk about Sophia each time she did, but he still felt bad. "What about you?" Carol asked after a few moments, her fingers gliding over the folder she kept in her hands.

"Naw. Always wanted one. I'd see kids with their pets 'n I'd want to be like that... Merle always said no." Daryl recounted his childhood and the many times he'd ask his brother to get him a dog when he was young. Merle hated telling him no over something so small and simple, but Merle had his reasons and Daryl knew why. "He'd always say 'Boy, ya'know the second Pa'd get angry, that pup would be dead'" Daryl's voice has a twinge of bitterness and anger in it and Carol's instinct is to reach over and take his hand but she knows that's not what Daryl needs. "Then after we up 'n left, we weren't livin' tha kind of life you'd want a dog around."

"Do you still want one? A dog."

Daryl looked up at Carol with an amused look on his worn face, snorting dismissively at her. "We ain't livin' in a world safe for dogs. Besides, I ain't seen one in months. Probably never see one again." Carol stood to her feet and walked over to Daryl, resting her hand on his shoulder. Daryl flinched for a brief second when her hand touched him and she stilled her hand for a second before she gently squeezed his shoulder.

"Never say never, Daryl Dixon." Carol said softly and waited a second before she leaned down to kiss his forehead. No one was there to see the moment between them, how they preferred to keep it. They weren't like Maggie and Glenn, they didn't need anyone to know what was going on with them. "Hunting tonight?" She asked softly, tucking a strand of his hair behind his ear. Daryl looked up at her and nodded over his bangs.

"Requests?" Daryl asked as Carol leaned against the edge of the table right next to him. A smile formed on her tired face as he asked if she wanted anything special and she licked her lips in thought. Daryl looked up at her tired face and he felt bad that she was always so tired. Even though they were somewhat safe within this prison, no one could really _relax_ and be completely rested, Daryl included. He was used to being tired all the time and he was sure Carol was too but that didn't mean he liked it.

"If you can get 'em, I think everyone would really like rabbit instead of eating squirrel again." Carol felt terrible when she told him that people were getting sick of the same meat over and over again. He was the only one who could really hunt and hunt well. Daryl tried his best to get meat for everyone at the prison but with each time he left the prison, either for hunting or for making runs, he would have to go further and further away from the prison.

Carol felt like she was in high school again, holding her folder close to her chest as she leaned against a table in a library while Ed sat next to her. Except this wasn't high school and this wasn't Ed. This was a prison in the middle of the goddamned apocalypse and this was Daryl Dixon. This wasn't a man who was going to harm her just because he could. Daryl protected her, provided for her, cared for her. Even if Daryl didn't know it, he was everything that Carol had wanted Ed to be.

"And what do _you _want?" Daryl asked as he stood to his feet. He looked down at the woman who stared up at him like he was the greatest thing in the world. He hated that everyone here looked at him like the sun shined out of his ass but it was something else when Carol stared up at him like that. She had seen him in his worst light and seen him in his best light. Hell, she helped form his best light.

"I will be happy cooking whatever you bring home, Daryl." She said, gently reaching out and touching his wrist softly. A slight smirk formed on Daryl's face and he shrugged his broad shoulders.

"Ya just sayin' that."

"A little bit." Carol admitted and she let out a girlish giggle. "Be safe, Daryl."

"I will." He nodded at Carol. She opened her mouth to tell him to promise her but Daryl cut her off. "I promise. Safe and careful." A small smile formed on her lips and she tilted her head to the side as Daryl tilted his head to the side and glanced around the library to see if anyone was around before he pressed a very rare kiss to her forehead. He left without a word after the kiss, leaving Carol surprised and taken back by his action. Carol blinked and smiled at the ground, biting down on her bottom lip.

Carol didn't _need _the touches or the kisses or even sex but that didn't mean she didn't like it when it happened.

* * *

Daryl returned later in the day; an hour before Carol and Maggie were to start preparing dinner. She could tell he was back due to the commotion and a smile formed on her face, though she didn't leave her spot inside the prison. Carol used to be one of the first ones to greet him when he returned but Daryl Dixon had a bit of a fan club that somehow always got there before she did. So she'd wait for him inside the prison. He didn't seem to mind it, he never said he hated that she met him inside the prison instead of being inside.

"Kinda miss when it was jus' ya and Rick who'd greet me when I got back." Carol looked when she saw Daryl, hunting bag slung on top of the counter. She turned to look at him and smiled.

"You're gonna have to learn to live with the love, Daryl." She reminded him, smiling when he snorted at her.

"Yah and I know, ya liked me first." He grunted in response. Carol smiled at him and let out a light laugh at him bringing up something she had told him months ago;_ 'Just so you know, I liked you first'._

"So what did you bring us for dinner?" She asked, leaning against the counter. Daryl turned to the bag and he opened it, pulling out dead animals.

"Got ya a few rabbits, had to get some squirrel still to make up for it. And this." Carol jumped back when he pulled out a long snake. Rare laughter escaped the younger man and he took a step closer to her with the snake in both of his hands.

"Daryl Dixon, you get away from me with that thing." Carol scolded, taking a few steps back as he walked closer to her with it. "You can't eat snake!"

Daryl grinned down at Carol and looked at the dead creature, shrugging as he gripped it's head and looked down at it's eyes, much to the dismay of Carol. "Ya can cook up anything." He looked down at Carol, holding the animal in his dirty hands.

"Fine. But you're helping me then." Carol said, narrowing her eyes to glare at him. He didn't fight her on it, just moved to find the kitchen knives they kept. Daryl shrugged and moved to give her room to be able to skin the rabbits and squirrel just the way he taught her. Carol was learning and sometimes she screwed it up but other times she did really well on it. Daryl had to remind himself not to lose his temper or his patience when others couldn't skin an animal the way he could, he grew up doing this and the others didn't.

Daryl watched Carol as she skinned the rabbits, only messing up a few times. He couldn't help but feel a swell of pride in his chest – that was _his _doing. _He _taught Carol how to do that when it was normally her who taught him things. They prepared the squirrels together as squirrels were still something that Carol wasn't used to doing it. Besides, she preferred to watch Daryl do it.

Maggie entered the kitchen with Glenn close behind her and she smiled at Carol before helping her find a box of instant rice that was still good and would go decently with what they had. They had several jars of fruit cocktail that there were going to serve for dessert. Everyone had been really good and everyone deserved a treat.

"Is that..." Maggie trailed off when she noticed Carol chopping up the snake that Daryl had left on the counter. She looked up at Maggie then back to Daryl and Glenn, who were sitting at one of the tables with a deck of cards between them. She was pretty sure they were playing War and it made Carol smile to see them play a childish game like that.

"Just don't tell the kids." Carol smiled at Maggie and returned to their cooking.

* * *

"Admit that ya liked tha snake." Daryl demanded through a whisper and Carol turned her head to look at his, rolling her eyes though Daryl couldn't see it in the darkness of the cell. She had climbed into his cell about ten minutes ago after she was sure everyone had fallen asleep.

"I will not." Carol whispered, looking at Daryl who was lying directly against the wall on his side, his eyes on Carol's. Awkwardly, she rolled over to face him and she smiled at him.

"So ya liked it but ya won't admit it?" Daryl raised an eyebrow and he dragged his tongue over his chapped lips. Carol stayed silent except for the girlish smirk on her face. Daryl scoffed and adjusted so that he was half lying down and half sitting up.

"Maggie asked me to go on a run with her tomorrow. Said I'm the only one who is going to know what the kids need." She shared. It wasn't like she had to ask permission for him to go on runs but she liked to tell him when she was going to do it. Daryl tensed, as he was always nervous when Carol had to go out and he wasn't there to go with her but he had his own run to do tomorrow with Glenn, Michonne, and Bob.

"Just you two?" He mumbled, looking down at her. Carol looked up at him and a small smirk formed on her lips with how he was always worried about her. Daryl could try to be this big bad ass all he wanted but Carol knew how much of a softy he really was.

"Rick and Tyrese are going with us too. Since there must be a man with us at all times." She teased. Daryl narrowed his eyes at Carol and watched as she got more relaxed in his bed, liking the way she looked when she lied next to him. He shut his eyes and started to drift away to sleep, but was brought out by Carol speaking again. "Hey, if you ever got that dog, what would you name it?"

Daryl opened one eye to look down at Carol, who was staring up at him with those big doe eyes that made him weak in the knees. A smile formed on his face and he looked up at the ceiling, shutting his eyes before he spoke. "Roxanne."

Carol tilted her head to the side when he said Roxanne and an amused smile formed on her face. "Like The Police?" She asked, never imagining Daryl to be into The Police.

"Goodnight, Carol." Daryl said with a smirk on his face. Carol pouted for a moment before she mumbled her own goodnight and curled up at his side.

* * *

It had been at least an hour since Rick, Tyrese, Maggie, and Carol had gotten into two separate cars and left the prison to head out north to see if there was anything they could scavenge. Being so far away from the prison and all the people there unnerved Carol. Being so far away from Daryl – who had head south with his own group – unnerved her. Like Daryl knew Carol could handle herself, Carol knew that Daryl could handle himself but that didn't mean she didn't worry about him every time he left the prison. She worried about everyone whenever they left the prison.

"Daryl and I had a nice chat before we all left." Rick spoke for maybe the second time in an hour. His voice brought Carol from her thoughts and she turned her head to look at Rick, a playful roll of her eyes preceding her words.

"Let me guess, Daryl told you that if I return from this run in any different condition than I left, he'll kick your ass?" She guessed.

"Shoot me in the ass with his crossbow, actually." Carol snorted and she shook her head, pressing her fingers into her temple. "He just worries about ya. Probably his first girl, you are." Carol turned her head back to Rick and she opened her mouth to argue that she was _not _Daryl Dixon's girl but he cut her off. "Don't deny it, we all know." Carol made a face at Rick and let out a puff of air from her nose. "Don't worry, Carol, ain't nothing gonna happen to while I'm here."

Carol turned to look at Rick with an unamused look on her face, glaring at the sheriff who looked way too proud of himself for her taste. "I hate Daryl Dixon." She mumbled as Rick leaned his hand out the window and signed for Michonne to pull over as they pulled into a cul-de-sac very similar to the one that Carol had lived in before the world went to shit.

When the cars were parked, the four adults were standing between the two cars as Rick gave them directions. He and Tyreese were going to take the left side of the street and she and Maggie were to take the right side. They were to be as careful as they could be, only use bullets if they absolutely needed and get the essentials first. Treats and special items were always second. Carol knew the drill but she knew it made Rick feel better to go through the speech before they did this.

Maggie and Carol went through the first two houses, doing a general sweep for walkers first then for supplies. The houses had been fairly empty when they did their search but they were lucky enough to find things in each house.

In the third house, Carol heard a strange noise. It was a whimpering or a panting. She couldn't quite make it out, but it got louder as she moved towards it. Carol stopped at a door and slowly pushed it open, surprised when she saw a full grown beagle on the ground with a small pile of puppies next to her. "Maggie!" She called out to the younger woman. Carol knelt down and ran her hand over the head of the beagle, who looked up at him. "Hi, girl. I haven't seen one of you in a long time." She said softly, checking out each puppy. She was surprised that they were all alive and they seemed to be in decent health.

"What is Car.. Is that a dog?" Maggie took a step closer and let out a girlish squeal at the sight of the puppies.

"Go get Rick. Beagles are hunting dogs, we need to take this dog back with us." Carol said. She knew a good amount about beagles, she had friends in school that had them and their fathers always took them hunting with them. Beagles were good at hunting and fetching small game, she knew this much. She sat with the dog for a few minutes before she heard Rick curse.

"Is that a fuckin' dog?" Rick asked in disbelief. He hadn't seen a dog in a long time either.

Carol looked back at Rick and she grinned. "It's a huntin' dog, Rick. And her puppies are huntin' dogs."

"Could we even take care of dogs in the prison, Carol?" Rick asked.

"I think we could. Give it parts of deer and squirrel that humans aren't supposed to eat. In the long run, taking these dogs back with us are a good idea." Maggie told Rick, looking down at the dog and her puppies.

"I think it would be for the kids, too. Teach them responsibility and frankly, give them something to look forward to." Carol added to Maggie's comment. She believed firmly in everything she was saying – and she also wanted Daryl to have a dog. It was stupid, but she hadn't stopped thinking about it since he told her he had always wanted one. It was like fate that she found this dog and her puppies.

"Alright.. We'll come back for the dog. Finish looking for supplies and we'll come back for it... And keep an eye out for dog food."

Overall, the haul was good. Carol and Maggie filled up a whole bag of food they found in the last house and they found several supplies for all the kids including Judith. They found books for the kids to do school work in, found a lot of clothes for the younger kids and even found some board games for them to take. Rick and Tyreese had gotten lucky too, they'd found several more guns and rounds of ammunition. How someone had missed that, Carol would never figure out. The best thing they found, in Carol's opinion, was the dog and her puppies. Rick had made Carol, Maggie and Tyreese to keep the dog a secret from the kids and everyone else until they were sure they were all going to make it. They planned to keep her in the unused cells in cell block A, hoping she wouldn't make too much noise. It was going to be hard to keep this secret from the kids and even more a secret from Daryl, but she had a feeling he was going to like it.

When they returned to the prison, Daryl, Glenn, Michonne and Bob were still gone. Most of the kids were busy thanks to Beth and Carl, so it was fairly easy to get everything in (including the dog and her four puppies). They didn't seem to mind being handled or put into the cells. They settled right into a corner of the cell, curling up into their Mama's side. Hershel came up and gave them a look over. He assumed that the mother was at least four years old, but the puppies were only three weeks. He was surprised that a dog was able to live out there, especially with several puppies. He agreed with Carol and his daughter – having this dog was going to be good in the long run.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's part two! ****Thanks for all the love I've gotten, it means so very much to me. Also updated today was _A Melody, A Memory Or Just One Picture, Spotlight on the Lake, _and _Of Marauders and Honor _and a new one shot _Stay For A While. _****Not to mention, a brand new fic has been posted. It's called _A New Day _but it's Carol/Merle. Marol is my new obsession, but I'll never abandon Caryl.**

**I'm on tumblr too (as I have mentioned before), peletierscarol (which will auto-direct you to my custom url). Please feel free to follow me and talk to me there. One can never have too many friends.**

**Happy reading and Caryl on!**

* * *

The second group returned a few hours later while Carol was back in the library sorting through the books that they'd found. She had lessons to prepare for and it was something better to do than sit around and wait for Daryl to return.

Rick pulled open the gate with help from Carl and Tyreese, waiting until the car carrying Glenn, Michonne and Bob and Daryl on his bike came through the gate. They closed it and pulled the vehicles up to the parking lot they had created. Daryl climbed off the bike and handed the bag strapped on his back to Carl to take in.

"Where's Carol?" He asked, eying Rick as he came towards the hunter.

"She's fine. In the library. Don't trust me with your girl?" Daryl snarled mockingly at Rick and walked past him towards the prison. Rick turned to Michonne as she came over to him, holding two bags of her own. "He seems in a good mood." He joked to the quiet woman. Michonne chuckled and looked up at Daryl as he was walking up to what they all called home.

"He almost got his ass bit. Wasn't paying attention and a Walker grabbed him. Wanted to get the hell out of there once he got free." Michonne told Rick, throwing the bags over her shoulder. "Walk with me, Grimes, tell me about your trip."

Rick looked down at Michonne as they started walking back up to the prison walking side by side, their hands swinging close to each other before Rick laced his fingers through Michonne's. No one was watching, so it was the perfect opportunity to show her some affection. "You won't believe what we found."

* * *

Daryl walked through the prison, grunting towards those who greeted him. Carol would scold him if she saw him ignoring the people that gave him the love that – in her eyes – he rightfully deserved but she wasn't here and she was exactly who he was looking for.

He found her in the library, standing over a table with a pencil stuck behind her ear. She was leaning over the table, flipping through papers that she had on the table. While Carol had weekly lessons about survival in the library, she also took teaching these kids seriously. Before she had married Ed and he had forced her to quit her job, she taught fifth grade English. She had missed teaching and was thankful she got to do it again, even if it was in the middle of the goddamn apocalypse.

Daryl could tell that Carol hadn't heard him come in as she hadn't bothered to look up. He shrugged his crossbow off and leaned it against one of the chairs before he walked straight up to her, earning her attention when his hands grabbed her face.

"Hey, you're ba-" Carol was cut off when Daryl pressed his lips against against hers.

Carol was taken back by his bold move as they had never actually kissed before. Sure, the occasional forehead kiss or kiss on the cheek but aside from that they had never actually kissed. She had never thought Daryl would be the one to initiate it, either. Just before Daryl could pull away, Carol's arms wrapped around his shoulder and she tugged him close to her as she returned his sudden kiss. One of Daryl's arms went around her and he backed her up against one of the bookshelves. He pinned her between his body and the bookshelf but gave her enough room that if she wanted to get away from him, she could.

They finally pulled away from each other when they needed to breathe, Carol's hand resting on his side. She stared at him while she tried to catch her breath, watching Daryl breathe heavily. "What was that?" She asked, trying to keep her eyes on his and not the strong arm that was pinned above her head. She couldn't tell if he was blushing from what she had asked or just flushed from the kiss (or possible sun burnt) but she liked the way his skin had a light red tint to it right now.

"That was a kiss.." Daryl trailed off, smirking to himself when Carol narrowed her eyes at him.

"I know what it was. It was also our first and it came out of nowhere." She slowly pulled her hands away from their place around his waist and she leaned against the bookshelf. "Did something happen on the run?" She questioned. When he didn't reply to her, Carol glared at him. "What happened?"

"I wasn't payin' attention, got grabbed.." Daryl admitted. Carol brought her hand up and pushed her hand against his chest.

A hundred thoughts of losing Daryl ran through her mind and Carol shook her head to blink back the fearful tears. He was okay, he was here. There was no need to cry. "What did I say about being careful this morning?" She snapped. Daryl took her berating and the guilt trip she was giving him, as he always did. "Do you know what it would do to me if I lost you?"

"Shh." Daryl hushed and cupped the side of her face in his large right hand. "I'm okay, alright? I'm here." He mumbled. Carol took a deep breath and knew it was stupid to get so worked up when he was fine and he was here. Carol's arms wrapped back around his waist and she rest her head over his heart. She could hear his heart pick up at her touch then slowly go back to normal. The hand that was on her face wrapped around her waist and tugged her body against his.

"So what was the point of kissing me?" Carol asked after at least ten minutes of them standing there with their arms around each other.

Daryl turned his head to look down at her as her gaze turned up towards his face before he spoke. "Almost getting bit makes ya rethink shit." Daryl said cryptically before he pulled away from her and turned to look at the lesson plan she'd been working with. "I been thinkin' about your lessons..."

Carol stared at Daryl for a few moments, wondering what he meant about almost being bit making him rethink things. She stood off the shelf when he said he'd been thinking about her lessons and she walked over to her papers. "I know you don't really like what I'm doing but.."

Daryl waved her off and cleared his throat. "Thought I'd come in, talk to 'em about huntin' and tracking." Carol smiled and looked up at Daryl with a grin on her face for a few minutes before she spoke.

"Really?"

Daryl looked down at Carol and nodded. "Really. Kids need to know about these things, 'bout huntin' and skinnin' animals.." Carol nodded and turned to look at the lesson plan she had lied out on the table.

"Thanks.." She said softly and nudged him. "For everything." Daryl snorted and he looked down at her.

"Stop looking at me like the sun shines outta my ass."

"Maybe I think the sun shines out of your ass." Carol teased and leaned over the table to pull some of the papers close to her. Daryl turned his attention to glance down at Carol's beautiful ass, grinning to himself as she bent over.

Carol wanted so badly to tell him about the dog they found but knew that Rick was right, they needed to keep it quiet. Even if it was just Daryl and Daryl could keep a secret. "What do you say next week, Wednesday?" She turned her head to look at him. When she spoke it brought his head back to her face and he flushed at the blush on her face when she realized where Daryl had been staring. She giggled to herself and Daryl cleared his throat.

"Sounds good." He nodded. Daryl mumbled to Carol that he was going to go relieve whoever was on watch and left the library, leaving Carol to think about the kiss, what Daryl had said and his unabashed staring at her ass.

* * *

Carol sat on one of the blankets outside just after the sun had set with Glenn, Maggie, Rick, Michonne, Carl, Beth and Hershel, those old enough sharing a rare bottle of wine while Carl and Beth were drinking water with flavor packets Daryl had found on their run. It was rare for them to be able to sit outside like this so they were taking full advantage of the situation. They were making small talk among themselves before Maggie and Glenn fell silent, their heads turning up when they noticed someone else coming towards them.

Carol lifted her head and looked up at Daryl's form as he came down, a bottle of Southern Comfort in his hand. She smiled and glanced up at Daryl as he moved to sit down next to her without saying anything. He held himself up by pressing his palm right behind her, bringing the bottle up to his mouth and taking a long drink from it. Carol turned back to Maggie and raised an eyebrow before turning to Hershel and telling him to go on with his story about an animal he cared for before the world went to shit. She turned into Daryl's touch, their sides touching as she held the wine glass in her hand.

The group stayed out there for at least an hour until they decided it was time to head back inside. Carol and Maggie cleaned up, both Glenn and Daryl hanging back until they were done. Carol was surprised that Daryl stayed close by, she figured he would have taken off by now. When she and Maggie were done, she head back up to her cell to remove her jeans and put on the loose sweat pants she slept in. They were still practical in case she had to get up later but they were also comfortable to sleep in. She sat down on the bed and wrapped her hand around the back of her neck, massaging the back of her head. She hadn't realized that Daryl was standing there watching her until he spoke.

"C'mon.." Daryl said. Carol turned to look up at him and she raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what he was talking about. "Ya gonna end up in my cell in ten minutes anyway, might as well come with me now." She stared at him for a moment, wondering why he was being so open with her and the relationship they had been forming now.

"You sure? Everyone's still awake." Carol said as she stood to her feet. The concrete underneath her toes was cold but it felt good considering the rest of the her body felt like it was on fire.

"'Don't care." Daryl said, truly surprising Carol. She smiled softly and took a few steps over to him, taking his hand when he offered it to her and they walked back into the cell next to her. Daryl kicked his boots off onto the floor and set them by the bed, lying down on the bed close to the wall so she could climb into bed with him. Carol smiled and crawled into the bed with him and she lied on her stomach before she wrapped an arm around his waist with her head on his chest.

Daryl looked down at her with a grin on his face, his arm wrapping around her shoulder. Carol didn't know why he was suddenly showing her affection in front of people but she was happy about it. The affection was nice even if it was different. "Goodnight, Daryl." She mumbled and shut her eyes with a smile on her face. Daryl leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her forehead.

"Night, Carol." He mumbled. As Daryl fell asleep he could have sworn he heard Carol mumble that she loved him, but he choose to ignore it knowing she probably only said it because she was falling asleep.

* * *

Keeping the puppies a secret from Daryl was hard for Carol partially because she hated keep secrets from him and because she just wanted to tell him. She wanted to take one of those precious little puppies and hand it over to him so he could get started on training it. But Hershel said they should at least wait another week before they do anything like that. Rick fed the puppies any of the scraps that they could manage and whenever he went out he looked for dog food. Those who knew about the puppies wanted nothing more than to tell everyone but they knew why they couldn't. Hopefully soon they would be able to tell everyone about the puppies that were hiding up in cell block A.

The following Wednesday found Carol waiting for the students she was teaching, Daryl sitting on top of one of the trunks, bouncing his foot. He was nervous about this and partially regretted offering to teach the kids about hunting, tracking and skinning and cooking their own food but he knew that these kids needed to learn these things just in case. He had brought a rabbit and a squirrel with him to show the kids how to skin the animals and he hoped they wouldn't get too grossed out by it.

Carol lifted her head up from the book she had her head buried in and noticed how nervous he was. She shut the book and walked over to him, knowing they only had a few minutes before the children would start piling in. "You okay?" Carol asked, standing in front of him.

Daryl turned his attention to the older woman who had been in his thoughts almost all the time in the past few weeks. Since he had made the big move with her last week, kissing her; sitting close to her outside and asking her to just come to sleep with him instead of waiting for everyone to go to bed had become sort of normal for them. He still didn't like showing her affection in front of a big group but when they were alone like this, he didn't mind it. He nodded in response to her question, bringing his thumb up to his mouth and chewing on the nail.

"Nervous?" She asked as he chewed on his nail though she didn't need to ask that. Carol knew that that was something that Daryl did when he was nervous. She wondered when that started as he had done it since she had known him. "There's no reason to be nervous, Daryl. All these kids basically worship you."

"Now you're making it worse on purpose." Daryl grumbled against his nail. Carol playfully rolled his eyes and when his thumb left his mouth, she leaned down to press a soft kiss into his lips.

"You're gonna do fine." Carol reassured him seconds before the students piled into the room. "Okay, kids, today Daryl is gonna talk to you guys about surviving in the woods. He's gonna talk about tracking and hunting and how to skin animals." She gave Daryl a small introduction before she stepped back and let Daryl take over.

She leaned against one of the tables with a smile on her face, watching Daryl. At first his session with the kids was a bit awkward but when he realized that everyone was really listening and they weren't going to interrupt, he became more comfortable. He answered any question that the kids had to the best of his abilities and he grinned like a maniac when the kids were grossed out by the skinning of the animals. They paid attention to him, hanging on his every word.

* * *

"Told you it would go fine." Carol said softly in the darkness of the cell she and Daryl now shared together. Daryl shrugged and looked over at her, nodding slowly.

"Yeah, guess it did. Probably won't be able to get them kids to eat the meat for a while." Carol chuckled softly and curled up at his side, resting her head on his chest. Daryl's arm wrapped around her slowly and he rest his hand on the small of her back.

In retrospect, the close call he had back a week ago was the best thing that happened to him. It opened his eyes about wanting more with Carol and it pushed him to make the first real move with her, something that he never thought he was going to be able to do. As he looked down at the woman lying on his side, a smile formed on his tired face. It took a zombie apocalypse for Daryl Dixon to find love, how fucked up was that?

* * *

Carol slipped out of the cell without waking up Daryl, something that she was amazed she was able to do. It had been almost a month and a half since they brought back the beagle and the night before Rick had decided it was time to let everyone in on it. She begged Rick to let her give one of the puppies to Daryl before he told everyone and Rick went along with it. Granted, Rick would probably go along with anything that Carol asked when it came to Daryl. He was the one that kept this prison fed, he went on the most runs.

Carol walked up to the cell block and found Hershel waiting for her in the room, holding the small puppy that she was giving to Daryl. She made sure it was a girl so he could name it Roxanne. "Thanks, Hershel." She said and took the puppy from him and cradled it against her chest, smiling down at it.

"What made you decide to get a dog for Daryl? He doesn't seem like the type to want puppies." Hershel commented, kneeling down to check on the other puppies. Carol wrapped the dog up in one of Daryl's shirts that she'd stolen a week ago and shrugged as she held it in her arms. The puppy fell asleep against her as she spoke.

"The day before the run we went on when we found these guys, he told me he'd always wanted a dog when he was a kid." Carol smiled as she thought about the conversation, stroking the puppy's soft fur. "And Daryl has worked so hard to keep this prison safe... To keep us safe. To keep... me safe... I wanted something for him and when we saw these guys, I knew it was perfect." Carol leaned over and kissed Hershel's cheek before she left the cell and snuck back into her bed with Daryl.

"Come on puppy, wake up." She said, nudging the puppy awake as she moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Daryl was snoring loudly, his back facing her. She reached forward and grasped his arm, pulling him back on the cot. He grunted as she pulled him down and for a second she worried he was awake. Carol smiled softly and moved to sit the puppy on his chest. Recognizing the scent from the t-shirt, the dog began to freak out and started sniffing along his chest and neck, dragging it's tongue along his face and neck.

Daryl grumbled as he felt a tongue on him, squeezing his eyes shut. "Carol, stop." He mumbled, opening one eye when he heard her begin to giggle while the tongue was still on him. Daryl opened his other eye and looked down, seeing a small white and tan puppy on his chest. He looked down at the puppy and began to sit up, lifting the puppy up up awkwardly. "What is this?"

"It's a dog... Did you really forget what a dog looks like?" Carol teased as the dog leaned it's head over to lick Daryl's cheek. Daryl looked down at the dog in his hands and slowly brought the dog up to his chest, running its fingers over the dogs hair. "We found a dog on a run a few weeks ago that had puppies and... Beagles are hunting dogs and you said you always wanted a dog and I.. You've done so much for me and for everyone I wanted something for you."

Daryl looked up at Carol and the overwhelming look of love on his face took Carol's breath away. "It's mine?" He asked. Carol grinned and she scooted over the bed to sit next to him, stroking the dog's fur.

"She's yours." Carol said. Daryl grinned and he looked down at the dog, scratching the dogs head. "You said if you had a dog you'd name it Roxanne so... I made sure it was a girl."

"Hey, Roxanne." Daryl said as he pet the dog, resting the small puppy on his lap.

"Figured once she's big enough, you can train her to hunt with you." Carol said, watching Daryl play with the dog with a look of wonder on his face. Daryl looked up at Carol and he reached up to wrap his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her over to kiss her.

Carol grinned at the kiss and she returned his kiss before pulling away as she heard several of the kids in the prison squealing, clearly having met the puppies. She smiled and glanced out the cell before she turned to look at him. Daryl was still staring at her with this look on her face that if they were in a cartoon there would be hearts in his eyes. "I love you." Daryl mumbled, a blush forming on his face. Carol smiled and bit down on her bottom lip. She smiled and reached up to take the hand that was wrapped around the back of her neck and held his hand in her lap.

"I love you too." Carol grinned.

Almost fifty years old and for the first time in her life, Carol Peletier was happy and in love. It took a zombie apocalypse and the death of her daughter for Carol Peletier to find love, how fucked up was that?


End file.
